Today's the day. Happy Opening Day!
The game starts at 1:10 PM, and if you are attending you should already be on the road (as of this posting). Clayton Kershaw will make his seventh Opening Day start -- tying a Dodger franchise record held by Hall of Famer Don Sutton. You can watch him stroll into the stadium this morning here, via a tweet from the Dodgers. Go here for more detailed information on today's festivities. Below is todays lineup against the Padres, via a graphic from the Dodgers:
Photo above via Doug Padilla on twitter. Below are more links to check out:
- This Day in Dodgers History: In 1974 the Dodgers get Pedro Guerrero from the Indians in exchange for pitcher Bruce Ellingsen. In 2008 the Dodgers announce, twenty minutes before their game, that reliever Hong-Chih Kuo would be used as the starter in place of Chad Billingsley, who in turn will be used out the bullpen. The unusual move was made due to an threat of rain at the start of the game. In 2009 the Dodgers purchased Justin Sellers from the Cubs.
- Happy Birthday, Wally Moon & Tim Crews!
- Via Doug Padilla at ESPN; "Joe Davis on filling Vin Scully's chair: 'Embrace the responsibility'"
Q: We have established that it is impossible to replace Vin Scully. Yet you are calling games of the club that he is so synonymous with. How have you separated the undeniable aura of Scully from what you have to do moving forward?
JD: You don't separate the connection. There is the obvious connection of me being the guy who follows him. I think you embrace the responsibility of that. Where you make the separation is you don't follow the greatest who has ever done it and channel that negatively. Because I think that if you allowed yourself to buy into the idea that you are replacing the greatest to ever do it, first of all, you stand no chance. Second of all, you're probably going to be inclined to try and be that guy, to try to replicate whatever it is that has made him the best to ever do it for 67 years. And you're going to lose the most important thing, which is to be yourself. And that was Vin's biggest advice to me: You bring one thing to the booth that nobody can, and that is yourself. And that is what Red Barber told him when he was starting in 1950. So that is something that sounds simple, be yourself, but it's not. It's something you have to work at and keep reminding yourself of.
- Via Eric Stephen at True Blue LA; "Dodgers 2017 opening day payroll is $227.8 million."
- Per Andy McCullough at the LA Times; "To get back to the World Series, the Dodgers have focused on clubhouse chemistry."
“It’s probably the thing I’m most proud about in my short, short tenure, for players to say ‘I love playing for you,’ or ‘I want to play for the Dodgers,’” Roberts said. “This winter was evidence.”
- This is one of the weirder Dodger stories of the year. Via Charlie Wilmoth at MLB Trade Rumors; "Eric Gagne, Dodgers Discussing Minor-League Deal." I can imagine it now, Gagne walking out to "Welcome to the Jungle" at Dodger Stadium on his return.
- Per Matt Kelly at MLB.com: "5 Statcast storylines for '17 Dodgers."
- Per Barry Lewis at Tulsa World; "2017 Baseball preview: Five Drillers storylines in 2017."
- Per Harold Uhlman at Think Blue LA; "Meet Dodgers pitching prospects James Carter and Jeff Paschke."
* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Like Dodgers Blue Heaven on facebook *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *
No comments:
Post a Comment